Baby giraffe expected to debut, along with name, Wednesday

The Greenville Zoo's giraffe calf was still away from visitor's on Tuesday, but is expected to debut Wednesday, along with details of its sex and name.

Photo courtesy firnFOTO.com

By Felicia KitzmillerHalifax Media Group

Published: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at 8:14 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at 8:14 a.m.

The baby giraffe did not make an appearance, but there were still plenty of youngsters clamoring around the giraffe habitat at Greenville Zoo on Tuesday.

As if to apologize for the star's absence, Walter, the sire of the Masai giraffe calf born just before midnight on Monday, came as close to the visitors as his enclosure would allow. Visitors who gathered to fawn over the baby giraffe seemed placated.

“Hey, Mr. Giraffe,” 3-year-old Lillie Ann Hawkins called out as she leaned across the fence.

Her mother, Kristin Hawkins, said the family had been following the pregnancy of Autumn, the Greenville Zoo's 6-year-old female giraffe, and watched the live-feed “giraffe cam” on the Internet closely.

Last week at Lillie Ann's day care, the class talked about the letter G and, Hawkins said she told her class all about the baby giraffe that was coming to the Greenville Zoo.

“She's been fascinated,” Hawkins said.

The Hawkins family were among many who came to see the new arrival and were disappointed when zoo officials decided to keep the newborn under wraps for one more day. But most said they understood the need for mother and baby to bond in a peaceful environment.

When Autumn went into labor, Hawkins said she got an excited text from her sister, who has been following the pregnancy from Charleston.

It might seem odd to see such an interest in the Greenville Zoo's new arrival in distant Charleston, but zoo administrator Jeff Bullock said he isn't surprised. Tuesday morning, the zoo had congratulations emails from across the world, as far away as Belgium and the Netherlands.

The web cam that held people riveted to the giraffe habitat since it was installed at the beginning of October is hosted by EarthCam, a leader in live-feed production and distribution. The company has live-feed cameras in 1,500 cities and 46 countries, according to their website. Since its installation, the “giraffe cam” has received more than 1 million views, Bullock said, and is second only in views per day to the camera in Times Square.

Autumn's birth was streamed live via with web cam. Bullock said he's working with EarthCam to find out how many people were logged into the site at the time of the birth.

“It's been great exposure for the zoo,” Bullock said.

There hasn't been an uptick in visitors since the camera was installed, but those who come have been aware of the impending arrival, he said.

Reluctance to show off the calf to its many admirers was a precaution, Bullock said. Some who watched the live feed of the birth were concerned about the just-over-6-feet-calf's well-being as both parents seemed to ignore the baby immediately after birth.

“It wasn't (trouble) bonding so much as ‘What the heck just fell out of me?' ” Bullock said. “For a first-time mom, Autumn is doing extremely well. … Once the instincts kicked in, she did everything an experienced mom would do.”

There were three zoo employees there at the time of the birth, but Bullock said everything went smoothly and there was no need for them to intervene.

“It was one of the quickest births I've seen,” he said.

Mother and calf had some visitors early in the day, but the stress caused Autumn to get nervous and begin pacing, so Bullock kicked everyone out and kept the baby away from prying eyes.

“I have staff members who haven't even seen it,” he said.

The baby will be examined by a veterinarian Wednesday morning and Bullock said its gender will be determined and the calf will be given a name. The zoo staff has already chosen a boy and a girl name, but they are secret until the gender is announced, he said.

If everything goes well, Bullock said he hopes to have the baby available to the public Wednesday afternoon.

“When it gets out here, it'll be like a kid in a candy store running around kicking up its heels,” he said. “Early this morning, it was already bouncing around the stall.”

Upstate visitors will have about a year to visit the baby giraffe at the Greenville Zoo and then it will be shipped to Autumn's home at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston per the loan agreement. Walter and Autumn are the ideal age for mating though, and Bullock said he hopes when the new calf is weaned in about six months they will conceive again. The gestation period for giraffes is 15 months, which could mean another baby giraffe for Greenville within two years. A second baby giraffe would go to Walter's home zoo, but the third would be Greenville's. Bullock said if a third calf were born they would likely try to trade it for an unrelated female to expand the breeding program.

<p>The baby giraffe did not make an appearance, but there were still plenty of youngsters clamoring around the giraffe habitat at Greenville Zoo on Tuesday.</p><p>As if to apologize for the star's absence, Walter, the sire of the Masai giraffe calf born just before midnight on Monday, came as close to the visitors as his enclosure would allow. Visitors who gathered to fawn over the baby giraffe seemed placated.</p><p>“Hey, Mr. Giraffe,” 3-year-old Lillie Ann Hawkins called out as she leaned across the fence.</p><p>Her mother, Kristin Hawkins, said the family had been following the pregnancy of Autumn, the Greenville Zoo's 6-year-old female giraffe, and watched the live-feed “giraffe cam” on the Internet closely.</p><p>Last week at Lillie Ann's day care, the class talked about the letter G and, Hawkins said she told her class all about the baby giraffe that was coming to the Greenville Zoo.</p><p>“She's been fascinated,” Hawkins said.</p><p>The Hawkins family were among many who came to see the new arrival and were disappointed when zoo officials decided to keep the newborn under wraps for one more day. But most said they understood the need for mother and baby to bond in a peaceful environment.</p><p>When Autumn went into labor, Hawkins said she got an excited text from her sister, who has been following the pregnancy from Charleston.</p><p>It might seem odd to see such an interest in the Greenville Zoo's new arrival in distant Charleston, but zoo administrator Jeff Bullock said he isn't surprised. Tuesday morning, the zoo had congratulations emails from across the world, as far away as Belgium and the Netherlands.</p><p>The web cam that held people riveted to the giraffe habitat since it was installed at the beginning of October is hosted by EarthCam, a leader in live-feed production and distribution. The company has live-feed cameras in 1,500 cities and 46 countries, according to their website. Since its installation, the “giraffe cam” has received more than 1 million views, Bullock said, and is second only in views per day to the camera in Times Square.</p><p>Autumn's birth was streamed live via with web cam. Bullock said he's working with EarthCam to find out how many people were logged into the site at the time of the birth.</p><p>“It's been great exposure for the zoo,” Bullock said.</p><p>There hasn't been an uptick in visitors since the camera was installed, but those who come have been aware of the impending arrival, he said.</p><p>Reluctance to show off the calf to its many admirers was a precaution, Bullock said. Some who watched the live feed of the birth were concerned about the just-over-6-feet-calf's well-being as both parents seemed to ignore the baby immediately after birth.</p><p>“It wasn't (trouble) bonding so much as 'What the heck just fell out of me?' ” Bullock said. “For a first-time mom, Autumn is doing extremely well. … Once the instincts kicked in, she did everything an experienced mom would do.”</p><p>There were three zoo employees there at the time of the birth, but Bullock said everything went smoothly and there was no need for them to intervene.</p><p>“It was one of the quickest births I've seen,” he said.</p><p>Mother and calf had some visitors early in the day, but the stress caused Autumn to get nervous and begin pacing, so Bullock kicked everyone out and kept the baby away from prying eyes.</p><p>“I have staff members who haven't even seen it,” he said.</p><p>The baby will be examined by a veterinarian Wednesday morning and Bullock said its gender will be determined and the calf will be given a name. The zoo staff has already chosen a boy and a girl name, but they are secret until the gender is announced, he said.</p><p>If everything goes well, Bullock said he hopes to have the baby available to the public Wednesday afternoon.</p><p>“When it gets out here, it'll be like a kid in a candy store running around kicking up its heels,” he said. “Early this morning, it was already bouncing around the stall.”</p><p>Upstate visitors will have about a year to visit the baby giraffe at the Greenville Zoo and then it will be shipped to Autumn's home at Franklin Park Zoo in Boston per the loan agreement. Walter and Autumn are the ideal age for mating though, and Bullock said he hopes when the new calf is weaned in about six months they will conceive again. The gestation period for giraffes is 15 months, which could mean another baby giraffe for Greenville within two years. A second baby giraffe would go to Walter's home zoo, but the third would be Greenville's. Bullock said if a third calf were born they would likely try to trade it for an unrelated female to expand the breeding program.</p>